NFU Scotland president, Andrew McCornick, has issued a heartfelt plea for an end to industry in-fighting – and called on Scotland’s farmers to remember that their industry exists as an interconnected ecosystem, any part of which will fall without the vital business relationships that tie the highest hills to the flattest arable fields.

Like raw meat into a den of hungry lions, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s promise to deliver the £160m of convergence money owed to Scottish farming set off an almighty squabble over how it should be divided.

Last week, NFUS made itself the lightning rod for industry tensions by publishing what it described as a ‘sensible, proportionate, fair and deliverable’ divvy-up proposal that started from the existing allocations of Pillar 1 direct support cash, and then skewed delivery to offer a 100% uplift for region three ground, 50% for region two, and 30% for region one, alongside boosts for Scotland’s targeted coupled support schemes.

The response from some upland and marginal ground farmers was furious, arguing that the original motivation behind the cash had been to remedy Scotland’s below-average area payments, by boosting the per hectare rate in regions two and three – and that those deprived regions should therefore be the sole recipient of the money. What good, they said, was a 100% increase of practically nothing?

A clearly exasperated NFUS top team this week stressed that its proposed cash division was the product of a solid consensus that emerged from its board’s discussions of the issue, where sectoral and regional representatives had each argued their case, and then agreed on a plan that they could all unequivocally back.

“At a time when politics is polarising people – creating ‘us and them’ situations – we need to be pulling together,” said Mr McCornick. “Remember what it means to be a ‘union’. It brings together things that might otherwise be apart.

“The NFUS gets listened to in Westminster and Holyrood because it genuinely represents the whole of Scottish farming. And all our guys, hill, upland, arable or otherwise lobbied long and hard for this convergence money. At a time of unprecedented division, our board agreed a consensus that gave everyone a kick of the ball.”

But Mr McCornick was at pains to stress, the divvy-up wasn’t just designed to keep everyone happy, whether they deserved it or not – it was intended to make the best use of the money, maximising the benefit to ‘Farming Scotland PLC’.

“We cannot forget how integrated we are. It is an ecosystem, within which we are all reliant on each other, from the highest hills to the best arable ground and all points in between. We had to show leadership, and lay claim to this money for all the active farmers of rural Scotland. We firmly believe that this is the best possible use of this money at this time.

“It’s a good problem to have, extra money to share,” he added. “But £160m is only equivalent to one third of the annual support budget ... it is not going to change the bloody difficult situation that every Scottish farmer is going to face over the next few years.

“And this cheque isn’t cashed yet. It isn’t even in the post,” he added.